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The House of Representatives Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has ordered the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, to immediately arrest the Acting Managing Director of NDDC, Prof Kemebradikumo Pondei, and other members of the Interim Management Committee for contempt of the legislature.
Officials of the Interim Management Committee led by Pondei staged a walk-out from the venue of an investigative hearing being held by the House committee over allegations of mismanagement against the commission.
The House Committee on NDDC is probing the alleged mismanagement and illegal spending by the commission, especially a total sum of N81.5 billion spent between January and July 2020.
The Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Pondei, who led members of the Interim Management Committee to the hearing, demanded that the Chairman, Mr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, steps down as he had also been accused of various “crimes” against the commission.
Several members of the committee, however, dismissed the request, asking the NDDC to petition the Nigeria Police, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission or the Department of State Services for any infraction allegedly committed by Tunji-Ojo.
Following the committee’s reply, members of the NDDC management committee stood up and walked out of the venue.
Consequently, the committee issued a warrant of arrest against the NDDC management, stressing that they must be accountable to Nigerians.